Adviser Sues HSBC, Alleging Prejudice
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An employee of HSBC Securities is suing the bank for gender discrimination, alleging that her supervisors held business meetings in topless bars and asked her to date the son of a potential client to secure a new account.
The employee, Beth Sollender, worked as a personal investment advisor at HSBC’s Fifth Avenue office until she was fired on April 20 for complaining about the gender discrimination, her lawsuit alleges.
The suit echoes one filed by the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against Morgan Stanley in 2001 that accused its male bankers of doing business in a strip club. Morgan Stanley settled in 2004 for $74.5 million.
Ms. Sollender is asking for $14 million in the suit, which was filed in the State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
HSBC did not return calls for comment.
